New Questions 3/2/04

Caroline says: You sound as if you are doing all the right things so my advice is keep trying!

When you have made direct applications, are you making you are sending your CV to the right person and following it up with a phone call? The more you stand out, the more likely you are to be seen. You should also make the most of your dual nationality and therefore I assume your foreign language skills. You should therefore target your CV to companies that do a lot of international research.

The other possibility is to try and get a temp job in the field or admin side for a company you would like to work for and see in you can move across to the research team internally. I know a few people who have got in to research in this way.

Caroline says: The Phd will be less useful than the experience as a qualitative researcher she is gaining. It's good that it is with a international company which will be known in the UK. She should think about getting sponsorship with her current employer to work here or applying for a work permit/visa which she should be able to get if she is not too old.

She would of course get paid the market rate in the UK for someone with her level of experience when she arrives.

Caroline says: I hope you don't mind my honest but rather pessimistic verdict on your question.

I think you will have a tough time trying because you have no relevant experience either in qual or from what I can assume from the companies you have worked for, social research. You will also need to expect to start again at the bottom, as a trainee and work your way up which means you will start on a low salary. eg ?18k You will also need to make direct applications to get in.

A degree will be absolutely essential because public sector/govt clients make high demands on their research agency suppliers which puts them under pressure to put highly qualified people on their business.

Are you sure you really want to do this? Talking to candidates, govt clients can be extremely bureaucratic, process driven and sometimes rather boring. Some of the projects can be very large and long and therefore dull and repetitive to work on. I've had a few people on my books say they really want to do social research, sent them on a couple of interviews which have made them realise that it is not all it's cracked up to be. They have then decided not to go for jobs in social.

I'm not saying that all social research jobs are boring at all. Far from it, but do be aware of the pitfalls.

Liz says: If you're heart is in planning, have you tried to move within the agency you currently work for? This would certainly be the easiest and quickest way to make that move.

If you want to take the longer route into planning and move into qualitative research first, then the important thing to do is get a job. Neither of the qualifications you mention will really help you make that move and you will learn far more by joining the right employer in the right role than you will in the class room. That said it wouldn't do any harm to join the AQR (Association of Qualitative Research) and go along to some of the meetings they have. This way you will learn more about some of the specific issues facing qualitative research and have a chance to learn more by networking amongst the industry.

In terms of finding a role in qualitative research, you need to start sending your c.v. out to recruitment consultants like me.

Liz says: There are four things you should think about.

Research agencies are the only bodies involved with research that have field and DP facilities. So the experience you are gaining in your current role will not be relevant if you want to move on from agency jobs. When applying for a new job you should emphasise the other experience you have had and ideally take a sideways move to a role which doesn't have these responsibilities in the mean time.

Most marketing consultancies do a lot of consumer branding work and because there is often a blue sky element to a number of the projects, there is an emphasis on qual. You would make a move into this area easier by taking a job which gave you more involvement with consumer and/or qual research. However the other element you would need is a passion for branding and in-depth knowledge of this area.

There are a number of other service organisations which employ researchers. Management consultancies are the most likely to consider a business to business researcher with quant skills, however they also want excellent academics. In addition most of them are struggling at the moment and there is very little recruitment in this area.

What about moving to a role as a research buyer for a company? It isn't only FMCG manufacturers who need in house researchers to buy their research. Because you are buying all their research they need applicants to have a broad range of research experience. The ideal role may not come up immediately but this is certainly an area worth considering.

Liz says: Confidence. The ability to communicate ambitions and experience effectively and the ability to multitask and juggle workloads. You need to have conducted some research on the industry and the company otherwise it's a No Go. You may be asked to do some tests to demonstrate accuracy, numeracy and attention to detail.

Liz says: I've never been involved in recruiting students for summer jobs so I don't know much about this area I'm afraid.

As you don't have any experience and the summer holidays will be too short a period to train you in, there is only a limited amount you can offer a research agency as an employee. If you want to work for a research agency be prepared to do anything: it is quite likely this will be as a telephone interviewer. Any experience is useful.

As far as I'm aware there aren't any research agencies in Exeter and there are only a couple in Nottingham and Liverpool, so you are more likely to end up in the London area than anywhere else. However it is worth trying as many companies as possible to increase your chances of getting work. I can't advise you on salary I'm afraid, as it isn't an area I'm involved with. Does the University careers service have an idea of rates paid to students working in the summer? Interviewers are in any case paid fairly standard rates so if this is what you end up doing there won't be any room for negotiation.

Liz says: Your experience as a mother and a teacher makes you well qualified to be a children's qualitative researcher. Your experience in marketing will also help as a lot of questions answered by qualitative research need a broader understanding of the marketing issues. All you need now is moderating experience and you won't get that by doing any more qualifications!

I suggest you contact all the research agencies you can commute to with some expertise in children's research and offer your services. You will effectively be a trainee so make it clear you are happy to consider a trainees salary. There probably won't be that many potential employers. If you don't succeed initially bare in mind that most of these companies are small so even though they might not be recruiting now they might be in six months time, ask them if they would consider you when they are recruiting? If you aren't getting anywhere try qualitative agencies who don't have an expertise in children's research, but bare in mind you have less to immediately offer these organisations so you are going to have to work harder to show you have something to offer. Good luck.

Liz says: To move into market research now won't be easy. Research agencies rather than the client side is where most juniors find employment so I would concentrate here. However despite your experience you will be competing for jobs with graduate trainees for positions in these companies.

Clearly you do have something to offer over graduates. Your marketing, report writing, planning and analysis experience are all useful along with the limited market research experience you have had. Make sure you make the detail of this clear when you applying for roles to maximise your chances. You could do an MRS diploma but it would take quite a while to complete and you really need to make that move now, rather than leave it until you are any older.

As for qualitative or quantitative; it is important to go into the area of research that you enjoy, for that is where you will succed, rather than think about which has the most vacancies.

You may have to take a drop in salary particularly if you join one of the larger agencies with the more formalised entry schemes.

You don't loose anything but a bit of time trying to get into research even though I can't make any guarentees! Your best approach at this level would be to contact some research agencies direct that work in areas which are of interest to you. If you could transfer within your current organisation that would clearly be the easiest way to make this move, but I suspect that isn't possible.

Liz says: The best place to be trained in market research is with one of the many research agencies. However before you decide which ones to apply to you need to have a clearer idea what it is you are going to specialise in. Once you have decided that it will be easier for you to work out how to slant the experience you have had so far.

The salary you can get will depend on what it is you have to offer the particular area of research you have decided to target. It will also depend on location, you would earn more if you came down to London, but local agencies find it difficult to hire junior staff and are also more likely to allow you to work with both qualitative and quantitative data. (Although to get strong training in one or the other, would not be a mistake.)

Agencies will think you have slightly more to offer than raw graduate trainees, your international experience is certainly something you can build on if you target agencies with a strong international capability. (Particularly qualitative agencies where your language skills will be useful). You will still be a trainee, but you could hope to earn slightly more than the average graduate and progress slightly more quickly. A lot of agencies will take on trainees at almost any time of year depending on when it is they need staff. It means you won't be joining the standard graduate trainee schemes run by the larger agencies but this probably wouldn't be the right route for you in any case.

Liz says: I would always advise a new graduate wishing to go into market research to join a research agency initially, as this is where you will get the best training in the nuts and bolts of research. There are a few research agencies in Dublin so this is where I would start. If you aren't successful with these then I know of at least one large FMCG manufacturer who has a research department there and they may be a couple of companies like this, try them next. The larger advertising agencies might also be worth trying. Even if you don't get the ideal job initially it might give you enough experience to make a second application to the research agencies in a years time more successful.

Liz says: In general it is possible for candidates to move from the client side to the agency side when they are still relatively inexperienced as you are.
Your statistical background will certainly make that move easier particularly if you would consider research roles in divisions with a heavy statistical bias to their research. However you should bear in mind that it isn't only prior experience potential employers will be considering (although that will certainly help you get the interview). They will also be thinking about whether your attitude and approach fits an agency environment, whether you have relevant market knowledge and what they think your client interface skills are like. Without meeting you it is difficult to gauge these and therefore establish just how easy it will be for you to get a job.
Not only will the job market have changed in terms of opportunity over the next year, but salaries too will have changed. At the moment I think it unlikely someone with your level of experience will get more than £25,000, but I can't say that will definitely be true in a year.

Liz says: As well as location you should also be considering the type of market research and therefore the type of training you will get. After all if this is a career you want to be in for many years to come you want to get as good a start as possible. AC Nielsen is undoubtedly a good agency which offers good training, but it's Oxford office tends to concentrate on quantitative panel research, is this the area of research that interests you? You may be more interested in ad hoc research studies in which case there are there are some good medium sized agencies nearby. If it is qualitative research that interests you then it is highly likely you would end up working for a smaller organisation. You shouldn't think that because a company is smaller the training will not be as good and more importantly if the company is doing the sort of research you want to be trained in, it will be far more useful!
If you can't find an organisation offering the experience you require in the Oxford area, then I would suggest you try further a field. But try the local agencies first. You might be surprised; most graduates want to work in London so a lot of the out of town agencies are only too pleased to find graduates locally.

Liz says: There are two key parts of your experience to date that will be of interest to prospective market research employers. Firstly your psychology degree. Exactly how your degree might be of relevance depends on the modules you took, and how these relate to the aspects of market research that most interest you most (do you have any leanings towards qualitative or quantitative research for example)? You may have even done some market research assignments as part of that degree?

The second area of experience you need to convey to potential employers is the understanding of market research you have managed to gain in your current employment. Also what markets are you selling that data into, is there useful market knowledge that would be relevant to a future employer?

I am guessing that your customer service role involves understanding the data, appreciating the clients information needs and how this data might meet their needs. If this is the case and you prefer working with quantitative data rather than qualitative, then it sounds as if you could be quite suited to a role as a client service executive with one of the research houses, producing panel or continuous data services.

If you go to see any of the specialist recruitment consultants in this market they ought to be able to talk you through some of these issues, alternatively you might want to consider being a market research recruitment consultant!

Liz says: Hopefully the organisation you are with now employs research executive staff as well as operations people as this is realistically the only way you are going to be able to move across at the moment, assuming you want to stay in this country. Other research organisations aren't going to be prepared to employ someone in a trainee role who requires sponsorship, when there are so many other trainees around to choose from.
I appreciate your current organisation may not be keen for you to move, given how difficult it is to find good operations people. But it is definitely something you should bring up in your appraisal. Hopefully you will be able to reach some sort of compromise. Something along the lines of staying in your role for another year, but after that being switched to a research position, or possibly staying in your role but being allowed to study for the MRS diploma.

Debby
says: A few of the recruitment consultancies that handle vacancies in the market research world do have people with excellent knowledge of DP. Unfortunately the DP market is extremely slow currently. A lot of changes are taking place and as many execs are now undertaking their own analysis so the demand for DP people has declined. That said there are still DP departments in most of the major agencies. We have a few DP vacancies at the moment.

Debby says: It sounds to me as though you could be an interesting candidate for a number of companies - in the North, Midlands and the South. With a Masters and an MRS qualification you have the ideal academic background. Public and social research have remained fairly buoyant in research terms while other sectors have suffered and there are a number of requirements for well trained execs.

Debby says: Some agencies do pay more, but realistically a £2k rise in a year would not be bad going and you are not in Central London.I think you would be best advised to stay put to achieve a bit more than a year - at least 18 months perhaps - albeit push to take on more responsibility, get the chance to present etc. Although a year is OK,realistically you are only a little way along the learning curve.
If you are really dissatisfied with the training and exposure you are getting, tactfully ask how they see your job moving on/what extra training they are planning - and if that does not elicit a good response, say what you are hoping for - perhaps some presentation experience or some trial group moderation... and some courses. If that falls on deaf ears then you could be justified in seeking a move. Right now the market is very quiet. Junior jobs are in particularly short supply - not least because last year's grad trainees are moving on and up to make way for September's in-take.

Debby says: Gaining a foothold in qualitative research will require some perseverance on your part. There are a few jobs around but most require someone who can 'hit the ground running' in respect of project design, group moderation, analysis and reporting. Although with your overall experience chances are you could do that, because you have not done qual work consistently for a reasonable period of time (say 12-18m +) it is more likely that you will not get considered.

We have had your CV on file for a number of months but have always found it difficult to fit you to clients requirements. I hope the following observations and suggestions help you to strengthen it - please take it as constructive criticism - then it is down to systematically contacting companies.

Although you claim 9 years experience, you have done a lot of chopping and changing especially in the last few years. This does not really add up to 9, therefore, nor does it give the impression of a really steady, committed person - so somehow you need to explain your way around this. Academic work ... sadly gets fairly short shrift from commercial agencies unless they happen to be in social or possibly healthcare. So it is best if you acknowledge the 'difference' and put in an explanation of why you took your next step ie going back into education...

What you need to do is to identify your strengths in respect of research eg rapport with people, analysis etc and bring these to the fore of your CV. Also your strengths in terms of sectors - it might help to focus on eg healthcare to start with.

Then just keep at the agencies and people like me. Good luck!

Debby says: There is life after London! Obviously it depends what you mean by a small agency - will 50-100 people and £5m turnover do? Just because a company is smaller does not necessarily mean it is less dynamic or busy - quite the reverse in many cases. Also working for a smaller company can often result in your gaining more responsibility sooner.
With regards to money, it is surprising how close salaries are - London agencies do not pay a lot more - and sometimes pay less for equivalent levels.

Debby says: Now is a problematic time to get into an agencies as many companies are now getting some use out of the grad trainees who started last September and are already thinking about the next lot. So unless someone drops out there are few vacancies for Junior Research Execs. My advice would be to proceed with trying to get on to a grad scheme, but to obtain useful research experience in the meantime -interviewing (telephone or face to face) or perhaps temping in a field department. The Market Research Society can provide lists of companies who specialise in fieldwork or run telephone centres.

Deborah says: Market Research could certainly offer you the flexibility you are seeking in your work.
I would suggest that you aim to start as a field interviewer for one of the leading agencies. This would mean that you could be trained and then it would allow you to work out of home under the guidance of an area supervisor. The work involves street and house to house interviewing, also running hall tests with a team of other interviewers. You could also be trained to be a recruiter/hostess for group discussions - which involves finding people (c8-9 per group) according to a defined quota and inviting them to a group discussion - which could either be held in your home (if you have a suitable room - for the use of which you would be paid an additional sum) or you would arrange for the group to go to a special viewing facility.
There are a number of companies you could approach including NOP, Martin Hamblin, Research International, MORI. These are some of the largest full service market research agencies who run large field forces and who are the most likely to offer proper training. The best way to obtain names and addresses of their Head Office Field Departments is to contact the Market Research Society (Tel: 0207 490 4911) for a list of all the companies with field forces. They will also be able to give you names of companies that specialise in fieldwork services - usually for companies that do not run their own field forces - they should also provide training. Most of the big companies are in the centre of London. However there is one - the National
Centre for Social Research - which is based in Brentwood (Tel: 01277 200600). They provide training, insist on you having a telephone (some of the work may be home-based telephone work), and say a car is preferable.
The alternative form of interviewing is telephone interviewing for companies who run telephone centres and do the fieldwork for many of the market research agencies. Obviously these would require you to 'go to work' but they do tend to offer fairly flexible hours which you could tailor to the needs of the children (and yourself!). Again the MRS is the best source of lists of names and addresses.
As I understand it, as an interviewer you work on a self employed basis so have to see to your own tax and NI - but you would need to check this out.
What I do know is that, once trained, a lot of interviewers actually work for a number of different companies in order to maintain a steady flow of work - you will understand that there may not be a consistent flow of work into one area all of the time from one company.
Once you have gained some experience, there would be the chance to take more responsibility as a local supervisor, then regional and so on up the ladder.
There are also head office positions. Interviewers are paid by the hour/day, with no retainers; supervisors get a small retainer and area managers tend to be salaried. In head offices, the jobs are also salaried, starting at around £15,000 for a project coordinator up to £30-40 for top field managers.
I honestly feel that this is the best route for you. It can be hard work, but fun. You get to meet lots of people and the work is varied. It is very difficult to get into the executive side of research - you really need a degree and there are hundreds of recent graduates chasing the trainee roles.

Deborah says: I am surprised that you hadn't had an answer from anyone at all and certainly feel you have been unlucky. You have a PG certificate in research - I would have thought this would have helped, especially if MRS accredited. However, 99% of companies say they want people with 2:1s - so if his degree is less than this, it will not have helped his cause.
I presume that some of your applications will have been speculative rather than for a specific job or training scheme. Right now speculative CVs are falling on deaf ears, especially if there is little experience. Regarding specifics, unfortunately there are very few junior vacancies at present - what there were have either been filled by the grad in-take from last Autumn, or put on hold.
If you were thinking of grad trainee schemes, you may have fallen 'between the stools' applying when last year's trainees are just getting started and thoughts have not yet turned to this year. In fact companies should be starting to prepare for next Sept/Oct in-take in the next couple of months. I am not 100% sure how each operates. Most tend to make their 'apply by'dates in July or August (to include this year's grads - which will just make it harder!). However, if you apply now it might be hoped that you could be at the top of the pile when resourcers' minds are fresh. I always feel it is best to get in early - some companies do have a start date as well so best to check the websites.
Regarding numbers of applicants - the plum grad trainee schemes are highly oversubscribed - for example, last August Martin Hamblin received 200 applications less than one day after posting details on their website; none of the big companies uses recruitment consultancies to find grads because they can attract so many through the milk-rounds and via their websites - we are talking several hundreds applying to each of Research International, MORI, TNSofres etc etc. So you are up against huge competition, hence the importance of the degree.
The market - it is still very quiet, with a lot of companies still operating a total freeze on recruitment. Others are putting tentative toes in the water - but often retracting them as quickly. The most buoyant sectors are healthcare/pharma and social. Within these we have quite a lot of vacancies for people with 2-5+ years relevant experience - even a couple for those with only one year. IT/Tcoms are still slow with only essential replacement - mostly 4+ years experience.
There is no easy solution other than to keep at them - definitely target the big companies as they are the ones most likely to recruit grads - the grad trainee schemes will start in the Autumn so he could use the time in between to work as an interviewer - telephone, street, or temping in field departments, learning/brushing up IT skills such as Power Point, Excel, SPSS. Also don't take silence for an answer - identify the companies you are really keen on and get on the phone. In addition, identify sectors of interest, build up 'your case' and target smaller companies that focus on these sectors.
Good luck!

Kate says: Yes trying to find a job as an interviewer would be a good way into the research industry. A lot of research agencies have international telephone units and are always keen to find people with foreign language skills. Alternatively, you could try applying to research agencies for junior positions in Field Management or Research Assistant roles which would get you closer to the executive side of things. For a list of agencies to apply to have a look at the Agencies section on MrWeb. I wish you the best of luck in your job search.

Kate says: The best way to get into research is to apply directly to market research agencies and see if you can get a place on their graduate training programmes. You can find out about all the different research agencies but looking at the Agenices section on MrWeb. Good Luck.

Kate says: Thank you for your query. If you are interested in healthcare and medical fields but also wish to retain your research skills then I recommend that you try to move into a specialist healthcare/medical research agency where you can combine your skills and interests. Otherwise it may be worth reconsidering your choice of career and looking to move into a different role within the medical sector. Obviously, there are lots of different jobs that you could do in this sector so you would need to investigate further to decide what suits you best.

Kate says: Thank you for your query. As I am a specialist in Market Research Recruitment I can only be of limited assistance to you. However, I recommend that you look at the vacancy pages of Marketing Week or Marketing Magazine which come out every Thursday as you may see Marketing Assistant roles advertised there. Additionally, you could apply speculatively to the Marketing Director of companies that you are interested in working for or contact a specialist Marketing Recruitment Consultancy. Good luck with your search.

Thanks in advance for any advice you can give me.

Kate says: The best way to get into Market Research is to approach agencies directly with a view to joing a graduate training scheme. Your statistical background will be a big help but you must be prepared to drop back on salary. Most graduates in research start on about £15,000 - £17,000. Your previous project management skills will be very useful and should help you to progress quickly. There are some research agencies that take on Project Managers for research projects although you would still need the basic research knowledge. As regards work experience this would depend on each individual company's need so it is best approaching them directly for this. I wish you the best of luck.

Kate says: Your creative background would certainly stand you in good stead for moving into qualitative research and many research agencies are keen to take on staff from educational backgrounds because of their good people and communication skills. I would recommend that you apply to companies directly and keep in touch with the HR contacts so that when appropriate positons come up they will think of you. The best way to find companies in the south west region is to look on the Agency homepage section of mrweb.com where you can assess location as well as research specialisms of individual comapanies. Good Luck.

Sinead Hasson says: The positions you should look for are - market analyst, research analyst or business analyst. You should contact companies similiar to Frost & Sullivan directly and explain what you are looking for, often these companies will employ people on short term contracts dependent on workload however these will often be long term rolling contracts.

Keep looking at MrWeb as I am sure that occasionally these jobs will appear.

Sinead Hasson says: Thanks for your question. Your background is fine for a career in market research, although degrees such as geography are often considered ideal for a career in research it really isnt that specific.

I recommend that you apply to market research agencies for their graduate trainee programs, ideally apply to larger agencies or agencies with structured training programmes as this will give you a good grounding in all aspects of research. If you go to Mr Webs agency home page you can often apply via the agencies site.

Sinead Hasson says: Your academic background is certainly suitable for research. You can specialise in qual but it is usually a good idea to have an understanding of both.

You should take a look at the Survey Exchange directory of research agencies on this site . Identify companies you are interested in and send them your cv specifying that you are particularly interested in qual.
I hope this is helpful - please get in touch if you have any more questions.

Sinead Hasson says: It sounds as though you are ready for a new job - 3 years is usually a good time to make a move especially if you are in your first job at the moment. The difference in positions usually comes down to project and client responsibilities, if you assume as an RE you learn how to run projects as an SRE you will be given more responsibility for the running of any projects, this does differ depending on agencies.

Regarding the second part of your question, as a recruitment consultant I am biased. However I think that you would benefit from talking to a recruitment consultant about your next move. The advantage of this is that a recruitment consultant will be able to assess your skills in relation to the industry in general and will be able to advise you as to the best opportunities in the most appropriate companies. You could contact HR departments but as you are not sure what level you are at I think you should speak to some recruitment consultants first.

If I can be of any more help please get in touch

Sinead Hasson says: Without having more detail on your exact experience I cannot be too specific, however there are lots of opportunities with market research agencies in the UK. There is a skills shortage in the UK and companies are more open to sponsoring overseas candidates than they have been in the past.
The best way to move forward would be to send your CV to a recruitment agency and they will be able to advise you on how they can help.

I know that I not only want to leave my current employers, but also banking in general. I also feel I need to get away from the City and maybe work locally or work from home. I have had enough stress and politics to last me a lifetime. Any assistance you could give would be much appreciated.

Sinead Hasson says: I am not sure what advice I can give as I am not sure from your mail what your experience is within banking. However if you are looking for a complete career change I can recommend that you see a career consultant - they are really focused on helping people change careers. They help people to look objectively at what their skills are and will then suggest alternate careers. I know a number of people who have gone down this route and found it successful. I don’t know if this is of any help but if you want a complete change it might be worth further investigation.

I was wondering if you might be able to help by sending me some example 'job specs' or application forms that might give me an idea of the type of role you are expected to carry out in this field and skills you might be expected
to have with approximately 3-5 years experience, e.g. that of senior researchers, market research executives etc. I have not highlighted a specific area as I wish to keep my options open at this moment in time. I have tried to find out this information myself but I have found the majority
of firms are very reluctant to send out this type of information.

Sinead says: Thanks for your question. I would imagine that as you are working in a research company at the moment you should be able to see from your manager etc how the research role develops.

Without knowing what you are doing at the moment it is difficult to say how roles change. On the agency side as you develop your research career you generally get more project responsibility, more client responsibility and more people responsibility. Also you can expect to develop your technical skills further.

On the clientside the responsibilities are similiar only you manage the agencies and deal with internal clients.

I cannot send out job description as it would breach client confidentiality. Research is a very interesting career and there are lots of opportunities within the industry.

If you have any further questions please let me know.

Sinead says: I am sorry to hear you have been made redundant. Some of your skills will be transferable to research and there are probably some gaps in your knowledge as well.

If you haven't got exactly the right skills it is often possible to get in to see companies based on your market knowledge, you should try and find some companies who work in industrial markets, either in terms of research, analysis or just general consultancy. They may be able to use your knowledge and experience in a consultancy role.

You should also contact some recruitment companies and see what advice they have, they may have some appropriate positions or may be able to point you in the right direction.

I hope this is helpful,

Good Luck

Sinead says: There isnt really any course that you can do - its always useful to do the MRS diploma but it isnt essential for career development.

If you want to work in international research you can approach that through the usual routes. If you would ideally like to go freelance you should either contact a specialist freelance recruitment agency or use the next 2-3 years to build up your contacts. Then ideally you should have a ready made client base.

In the meantime you should carry on developing your research skills.

I hope this is helpful, you seem to have a clear plan which will always give you something to focus on. If I can be of any more help please let me know.

Do you have any advice that you could email me, concerning career entry into
market research? Is there a particular area of MR that I would be more
successful in obtaining interviews? Salary is not particularly important as
long as I can survive in London!

Nick says: Without knowing more about the specific market research experience you have I must assume it is very limited. Nevertheless I think you may be underestimating your likelihood to interest an employer. Have you
approached any research companies yet?

Your experience in the fashion business and particularly at AC should get you noticed - in applications you should go into more detail about the nature of the project you ran at AC, how you got the job and your achievements. By relating your strengths to research activity you will go a long way to persuading someone to consider you.

There are some companies that have expertise in the fashion sector, but not many. These ought to be interested in you. Otherwise, look for agencies that conduct research at the end of the distribution chain that your company operates, i.e. if your company is a retailer look for agencies that focus on retail research. The objective is to use every bit of experience you have to convince an employer that you have knowledge to trade for training.

It does appear that you have a number of transferable skills and very few people are going to ignore someone who was considered worthy of a job at Anderson Consulting. You may need to take a cut in salary but if you're good you'll go up the pay scale fairly quickly.

The Research Buyers Guide is a good source of research agencies and has plenty of information about each one. It is available from main and business libraries or directoy from the Market Research Society.

I am currently working in an administrative role, which does involve an element of statistical work. I was wondering how I would go about doing this, and also whether I could easily get into such a position with my
limited experience.

Nick says: Most full service agencies have their own DP departments and there are a
number of companies that specialise in DP services for market research.
The Research Buyer's Guide, available from main and business libraries or
directly from the Market Research Society lists all the suitable companies
- Half a day with a pen and pad should yield a good long list of companies
for you to approach!

However, I would imagine that you will need particular computing skills or
familiarity with certain programmes. I'm afraid I don't know what these
are and so before you embark on a big exercise, I would recommend you phone
one or two heads of DP departments to find out exactly what they look for
in analysts. This may save you a lot of wasted letters if you need to get
certain skills first.

Nick says: The travel industry is big and you have given me no clue as to what you
actually do except that you enjoy analysing data. I suggest you firstly get
a book about market research and identify where your skills and experience
can be transferred over and then get hold of the Research Buyers Guide, or
some similar directory, available from most central or business libraries,
for a list of research companies in your geographical area.

Nick says: Without more information it's difficult to know how relevant your current area of research is to consumer research. However, developing your understanding of brands and marketing will be a big help, but you should also play to your research strengths and transferable skills when looking for a new company. Decide on whether staying on the client side is more feasible than agency. Again, without knowing about your current situation it's difficult to advise on this. As a rule of thumb, long term progress in market research really needs 3 - 5 years on the supply side, developing your technical skills.

However, the most important factor is going to be your personality. This will have a much greater bearing on your likelihood of success in consumer research than your current skills and experience.

Good luck

Nick says: My understanding (and I'm not fully au fait with the legalities of working in Australia) is that the problem will be less to do with travelling than working. You can go to Australia as a tourist for as long as you like, they're very happy for you to spend your sterling on their products. What they are less keen on is foreigners taking their jobs, so getting a work permit will be the tricky bit.

Having said that, I believe there is a research skills shortage in Australia at the moment so it may not be difficult to get permission to pursue your career there, although for how long I'm not sure. You should certainly be able to secure a holiday work permit for 12 months, longer may be trickier.

I hope this helps.

Best of luck and have a great trip!

Nick says: Before I answer the question, just a general point that readers may find useful. It doesn't apply to you directly but your letter does give me the opportunity to address something that comes up from time to time.

It's very easy to collect qualifications thinking that the more you have the better the job you eventually go for will be. Unfortunately this is not the case. After your first degree employers want you to have relevant work experience. If you're going to go for a masters or postgrad qualification, make sure it is very relevant to your chosen career area. In the end, no matter how qualified you are, you must start at the bottom and a 22 year old with one degree is a more attractive proposition than a 30 year old with five qualifications but hasn't been to work. Of course, this doesn't apply to you, [name], because you have been working and, I assume, you didn't know you wanted to get into research until some time during your postgrad studies.

So, to your question. First you need to know whether you should be looking at qual, quant or a mixture of the two.

Your suitability as a qualitative researcher is very much to do with your personality and it's not something I can assess using the wonders of the internet. Very broadly, good qualitative researchers are intuitive, creative, good communicators and listeners, assertive but not aggressive, able to think on their feet and process information as they receive it. They are also able to empathise with a wide range of different people. If you match that profile to a reasonable degree I'm sure you'll make it as a qualitative researcher.

So what's the best way of getting in? The answer is to use whatever means you can. Try moving for a start! The opportunities in London far exceed the rest of the country. Apply to graduate programmes by all means, but that is putting yourself into competitive situations where your age may count against you. I think you should also identify companies that focus on the research areas that interest you and write directly. If company size is important to you then of course exclude those that do not fit the bill, but if it's not a major issue don't allow anything to limit your opportunities - it's a competitive enough world to get into as it is.

Without doubt you should use whatever personal contacts you have. If you know someone who knows someone who knows someone in MR then get an introduction. People are usually more than willing to help someone out if they can. With speculative approaches, make sure you know something about the company so that you can give a plausible explanation for your approach in your covering letter, and identify a senior person in the company, i.e director level, that is responsible for that area. In other words write personally to the person you think is likely to be your boss. If you can interest them in your letter you stand a good chance of being invited in for interview. Be brief and direct, try to keep your letter to one side and make it punchy and compelling. Show them why you'd make a good researcher. You should also include your CV which will preferably be no more than two pages long.

Good luck, I hope to see your name in MRS publications before long!

Nick says: There is no reason why you should not be taken seriously by a UK agency if you have sound research skills and experience. Local market track record is less of an issue for quantitative research than for qualitative where cultural references take on significance, particularly in consumer sectors. If you want to stay in public sector research you may face difficulties as it is a fairly small part of the total market. Otherwise, if you have a work permit and are a decent researcher I would expect you to be able to secure employment in the UK without too much trouble.

Nick says: Unfortunately, I'm afraid that you may struggle to get into market research, even as a graduate trainee or junior. Companies are really in need of up and running researchers at the moment. Studying for the MRS Diploma may help but it is quite a commitment and won't guarantee a job at the end.

It's unlikely that you would be of great interest in a sales capacity as you would need to demonstrate an ability to discuss detailed research needs with clients. The skills you use in your current role such as cold calling are not as valuable in research as the ability to interpret a problem and design a research based solution.

That said, you do have quite a lot going for you so don't be discouraged. The best way to get into research is to utilise your existing skills and expertise. Since you have knowledge of software markets and distribution channels you ought to approach research agencies that focus on IT. In return for your training you will be able to provide knowledge that will help the employer to deliver insightful research and your presence at meetings will add gravitas for them. Your ability to offer insight at the data analysis stage will mean that you are providing real value from the start. On top of all this, your language skills ought to be of interest to companies that conduct international research. Please remember, however, that your English must be as good as perfect since there is plenty of report writing and presenting in research. Languages that you are less than fluent with are no more than handy.

Nick says: I think teachers make excellent researchers on the whole. If you have a psychology degree then so much the better. You need to be prepared to go in fairly low down, probably RE level as without project management experience you'll need some basic training. What you ought to have already in place are decent interpersonal, communication and presentation skills as well as the ability to absorb and synthesise information.

The MRS Diploma and Certificate are excellent qualifications but by no means represent a passport to entry and neither is not having them a barrier. Many employers will support your studies if they think you have potential, whereas they won't automatically take you on if you have already passed if they don't think you have what it takes to succeed. In an employees market such as we are currently experiencing I'm not sure an MR qualification will help significantly.

So what should you do next? Decide what size, style or type of agency is going to suit your personality and research interests. You must also take into account location, of course. As a teacher you probably worked fairly locally to home. You may need to travel some way to get to a market research agency. I don't think you can say that any type of company is more or less likely to be interested in you. The Research Buyers Guide, available from most main libraries and the MRS is a good directory for identifying appropriate companies. Use any contacts you have in the industry. The process could take some time and you may struggle to get interviews. If this is the case broaden your search. If you are committed to a career in research the main thing is to get your foot in the door. You can always move to a more suitable company later.

Also, some recruitment consultants maintain close relationships with their clients and may see your personality as particularly well suited to the culture of one or other of them. They may be worth contacting.

I won't say it will be easy for you. I wish employers would take a greater interest in career changers, particularly teachers, but on the whole they don't. Don't give up, 'though, and I'm sure you'll get there. Good luck!

* NB don't forget you can also use our own 'MRSpec' directory of agencies at www.survex.net - admittedly there are more in the Buyer's Guide but ours gives a good selection - Nick Thomas.

Nick says: This is something I am often asked about and it's an issue that is much more complicated than it seems. The short answer is that your pay should reflect your value to the organsiation you work for. If you are excellent, but for whatever reason (i.e. within or outside your control) you're financial contribution is not high, then you're not worth much to your company. In another company you may be worth more because your skills, or style, lend themselves better to the business model.

What you really want to know is whether you could get bigger bucks elsewhere, and you possibly want to know this so you have ammunition for a pay-rise at your next review. OK, the answer is you probably could earn more elsewhere. Qualitative researchers are a scarce commodity at the moment and much in demand. However, how much you could get is harder to say. Different employers take different things into account. One important factor is based on years' experience rather than type of experience. If you were to join a company on a level with people who have been in the business for considerably longer than you you may upset them and others lower down the scale. This is something companies must take into account as they may not want to lose two or three disgruntled good people for one exceptional person. Another consideration is emotional maturity and interpersonal skills. Most people can be taught how to "do research" (some are more suited to quant, others qual) but what you can't be taught so easily is how to be credible with your clients and how to develop productive relationships with them and your colleagues. So it's not simply a question of "I've done all this so how much will someone pay me".

If you feel that your employer is underpaying you then the first step is to talk to them about it. They may have good reasons. If those reasons don't convince you then look elsewhere. Do remember, however, that dissatisfaction with a current employer is rarely a convincing reason for a new employer to take you on. If you are offerred a new job, think about how it will affect your career development and longer term prospects as well as immediate financial reward. Some people at your level are attracted to the client side because the money is considered to be better. You should take into account what learning and experience you will gain if you do this and think about whether staying on the agency side will set you up better for the long term.

So you can see that it's not just a question of who will pay more. If you make the wrong move your salary in 5 years time may be much less than it would be if you stayed where you are and continued to move at such a fast pace. That said, you are clearly ambitious and confident and in your position I would let my employer know that you suspect you are worth more than they are paying and that you are considering looking elsewhere. Let them make you an offer. If they don't want to lose you they'll be foolish to make you too low an offer without good reason. If they are not prepared to do so I think someone else will.

Nick says:
Age shouldn't be too much of a barrier for you if you have transferable skills and experience. That said, there is still a degree of prejudice out there but companies that look at date of birth are finding themselves in a minority, particular as the skills shortage in the industry intensifies. What employers are looking for is the right skills set, potential to learn where you have gaps and perhaps most importantly, attitude. The real issue for you is how you want to progress your career. If you are blocked because your boss is at the top and unlikely to move then maybe a larger company could offer you more responsibility.

What are you particularly good at? If it's the project management side then play to that strength by seeking out positions that require strong organisational skills. If you have experience of working directly with clients and are good at it, perhaps you should go for jobs that involve more account management and development.

You should also consider which aspects of your job you enjoy the most. This often goes hand in hand with your strengths but not always. Think about how much you'd like a particular role or company culture as part of your evaluation of any given opportunity. Getting this right does have a major impact on your performance and therefore future prospects.

If you're good at what you do, and other companies need those skills, I see no reason why you shouldn't be able to find a new challenge.

Peter says: If you apply for a graduate scheme your salary expectations may be out of kilter with what could be on offer. Best advice would be to get some quant experience during the summer to see whether this is a career you would be keen to pursue.

Peter says: Research agencies both large and small are becoming far more flexible with regards to looking at the benefits of employing people on a part time basis. More companies are now employing people 3/4 days a week. So the answer is yes given the skills shortage and the cost of freelancers part time work is becoming more common.

Peter says: I recommend you sit down and identify which parts of your role you enjoy and which parts the role you do not. From there you may want to consider other job avenues as well market research to see how they compare.

If you have enjoyed medical interviewing then that is one avenue to pursue further: it tends to be better remunerated. There is always plenty of work for good medical interviewers.

Peter says: New media is a fast growing area of research offering a whole range of options. Some agencies utilise new methodologies as opposed to more traditional ones. It would be unfair to express my personal preference without understanding your personal motivations and aspirations as this would have a significant bearing on where would be best for you.

Our own Nick Thomas says:

Peter says: It is not unusual for companies to ask for evidence of previous work. I would be careful though to ensure that no confidence is breached.

Peter says: There are a number of different avenues you could consider. If you move completely away from research then you may have to consider a salary drop. You may want to consider a different angle within research that will provide you with a new challenge but maintain salary. In terms of the way forward I suggest you seek advice from a consultancy that specialises in research and marketing.

Sinead says: Thank you for your question. Size of the organisation you work for is not really of concern - people will be more interested in the type of work that you have been doing and how involved you have been in the research process. The next stage for you is to move to another agency, probably a larger agency so that you can benefit from more formal training and experience a wide range of research techniques/products.

You need to put a CV together and contact either recruitment consultancies and/or market research agencies directly. There are lots of opportunities around so don't be put off by the fact that you have worked for a small company as there are many benefits to working for smaller agencies.

Sinead says: There are lots of jobs in Australia and I am sure that you will find it easy to get a suitable job. There are a few specialist research agencies based in London who recruit in Australia, Pricejamieson is one of them as well as Elizabeth Norman and KD Consulting though you may find that most consultancies do some work in Australia. In general the job market for researchers in Australia is very good and they are also very interested in people who have UK or European research experience this applies both on the
agency and clientside so you should find that there will be a number ofinteresting roles for you.

Alternately you could contact research agencies directly.

Sinead says: It sounds as though you would like to stay freelance so you really just need to find some more clients. Stop Gap recruitment may be able to help you as they do freelance work for agencies and clients and they may be able to introduce you to some potential clients otherwise you should get in touch with the heads of departments of other agencies that you would like to work for and develop some new contacts.
There is still a great shortage of qualitative researchers so I would assume that if you could find one or two other clients this should solve your problems.

Sinead says: There are pros and cons to going freelance, the obvious pro is that you can have more free time and independence with the major con being lack of job/financial security. In general there are lots of opportunities for freelancers, Stop Gap specialise in recruiting for freelance and temporary positions and it would probably be a good place to start as they cover a wide range of positions and work both for agencies and clients. You need to build up a regular client base so that you dont starve but it may take time to do this so be prepared for lean months. The other thing to consider is that working freelance can be lonely - contract work is more sociable. Also if you are going to work from home make sure that you have some "office" space as this will help you to be disciplined. Speak to other people who work freelance as they can let you know the benefits and the pitfalls.

Do you know of any related areas that might be of interest?

Sinead says: In terms of what is open to you depends on what you want to do. You could move to a more creative research agency where you could explore those skills, this can mean moving to a smaller agency which means that it is likely that you will be involved in presenting. Alternately you could move to a larger agency where there may be less pressure to present. If you want to focus on writing maybe you should move to secondary research agency where you will mainly write reports this might be frustrating though as you may not be involved in the in depth analysis. I hope this is helpful - this is a tricky one as you do not want to present, if you have any more Questions please let me know.

In general terms, what are the opportunities and also the pitfalls of moving from agency work to clientside? What is happening today in market research departments within large companies ?... they get pretty bad press (unrealistic expectations, too absorbed in their own brand(s) etc). How much of this is true and how much is fiction?

Sinead says: There are pros and cons to both the clientside and agency case. The pros of moving to the clientside are that you get more exposure to all types of research, for example primary and secondary, and you get more involved in the practicalities of research and its implementation than you do on the agency side. This is also one of the disadvantages of working on the agency side and this is usually what will cause most agency researchers difficulty when they try to move across.

Other pros to working on the clientside depend on what you want long term - it can give you an opportunity to move away from pure research and into more of a planning role, though this is also dependent on the company.

Cons to working clientside; sometimes the research commissioned is left in a cupboard and not implemented, people often complain of the inability to get really involved in the research as it is commissioned and the in-house researcher can often be no more than a co-ordinator. Other complaints usually revolve round the fact that as you have only one client the work can become dull but this really depends on the client and their product range. Again it depends on what you want long term and that should help you decide where you should go next, if you decide on clientside make sure you go somewhere which has a fairly structured department otherwise you may end up caretaking projects.

If you are going to make the move clientside now is probably a good time as you are [at this stage of your career], try and focus on the industry sectors that you know well as what you lack in commercial experience you can make up in market knowledge. There are usually fewer clientside than agency roles due to a lower turnover of staff and small departments, also many client companies are based outside London - lower rents etc.

Will I be looking for a needle in the proverbial haystack in trying to find such a role? Should I just Quit and go home?

Sinead says: Unfortunately you seem to be trapped in the "can’t get a job without experience" cycle. You won’t be able to get a job in Qualitative research unless you have experience of moderating groups, the best thing that you can do is spend time trying to get some more Qual experience. Speak to the people in [your company’s] Qual [dept] and try and get involved with some of the work they are doing, observe as many groups as you can and see if they will let you moderate some groups. As most Qual work takes place in the evening it shouldn’t interfere with your regular work.

It will be difficult for a recruitment agency to help you get into Qual as you don’t have lots of experience, however you should try applying to Qualitative agencies directly to see if this will be more fruitful. Finally be aware of what a career in Qualitative research will involve - on the downside it usually involves lots of long hours and late nights driving back from groups. If you are prepared and dedicated you will be successful - if I can be of any more help please let me know.

Another Question: Would a Quali researcher have bigger chances of earning big bucks than Quanti researchers, or vice versa? I'd appreciate your thoughts on this. Thanks.

Sinead says: There are pros and cons to specialising in particular techniques - it depends on where you want to work. If you want to work in large agencies such as RI it is better to have specialised in one area. If you would prefer to work in smaller consultancies or move clientside then a combination of Qual & Quant is better. However there is no point specialising in a particular area if you are going to be bored so you should stick with what you find motivating and challenging and that will benefit you in the long term.

In answer to your final Question - at the moment Qual researchers are more likely to be able to negotiate higher salaries as there is a skills shortage.

Hope this is helpful.

Can you show a professional reference without being asked to do so?

Sinead says: It is not usually necessary to show any references until you are asked, this may not happen until after you have been offered a position. If you think that you references are relevant at an earlier stage then just ask the interviewer if they would be interested in seeing them - you can then either leave them with the company or send a copy at a later date.

Sinead says: I am not that familiar with the US market so I am not sure how relevant this will be. My advice is to build on the relationships you had in South Africa and use any contacts that they or you may have in the US to try and secure some employment. One of the ways to do this would be to go back to South Africa - work for a company who have offices in the US and try for an internal transfer. The only other thing I can suggest is to contact companies directly - there will be an issue with sponsorship, you have to prove that you have skills that cannot be found in the US market place but I understand that the number of visas issued has increased but that you need to apply in November.

Sinead says: There are a few research agencies in the South West where you may be able to find suitable opportunities, but you may find that there are generally fewer opportunities than in London where there is obviously a greater concentration of agencies. If you have classic research training I am sure that you will be able to find work in an agency. Otherwise you could make a move to the clientside to a research role - within a marketing department and from there try to broaden your knowledge and experience of marketing. As well as that you could consider doing the CIM Diploma which would confirm to future employers your committment to developing marketing skills.

Sinead says: Yes to a certain extent new media research salaries are higher, but new media salaries are higher in all professions at the moment. With many of these companies there is a certain amount of risk involved and also with start ups there are often no benefits, just basic salaries + stock options which may or may not be realised. The current climate indicates that there will be more consumer dot com failures and it is likely that traditional companies with an online business will prove to be more sturdy than the newcomers. It is still a very exciting sector and the roles on offer are challenging and in many cases you can be a part of writing your own job description. It's a work hard and play hard business and the people who are in it now will find that the experience they are gaining is invaluable.

Sinead says: In agencies the hardest positions to fill are AD and junior Director positions - this is mainly because people at this level sometimes decide to move away from classic agencies and into consultancies or clientside roles. On the clientside there is a lack of people with good experience in new media and ecommerce and also it can be difficult to find people who have a good all round knowledge of research, primary and secondary. It is generally difficult for agency researchers to move clientside because they have specialised in particular areas or techniques, whereas for clientside research you need to have a general knowledge of marketing and all types of research techniques.

Sinead says: This can depend on the competition. If going for an interview and your knowledge of research is text book you might be pipped at the post by someone who has had some MR work experience. You wouldn't be expected to have MRS membership. You must be able to demonstrate commitment in the interview, ie show conviction that you want a career in research, have a good understanding of what research is and what the company you are interviewing at does.

Sinead says: Generally there are lots of vacancies at all levels. Companies are now being a little more flexible in their reQuirements and will look outside the research world for suitable candidates as long as they have project management, client management and analysis skills. There isnt that much movement at the senior level but at middle level there are a lot of people making moves in and out of classic research. People at this level often tend to look for a change and might move to a consultancy environment, also the world of digital communications is attracting a lot of people from all industries. There are a lot of opportunities out there for researchers.

Sinead says: If you are a graduate, be open minded and then you can be considered for a variety of roles. If you have had a year's experience you may have started to develop key skills and you might want to continue to develop these or you might want to start again in a slightly different area. The Qual/Quant debate is tricky, it is good to have experience of both but there are not many companies where you are given the option to work on both. This decision is usually made on a more personal level and comes down to what you prefer. If you work in an agency that works across many different sectors then you will be exposed to a wider client base and this could be useful for defining what you prefer.

Sinead says: Confidence. The ability to communicate ambitions and experience effectively and the ability to multitask and juggle workloads. You need to have conducted some research on the industry and the company otherwise it's a No Go. You may be asked to do some tests to demonstrate accuracy, numeracy and attention to detail.

Sinead says: It really depends on the company you work for: in big agencies there is often the opportunity to move across into the exec side. Otherwise make sure that you are constantly progressing - get some experience of all aspects of the research process (ie. field AND DP) this will be beneficial when trying to break into the exec side.

Sinead says: Any degree involving numeracy and analysis is useful. Geography, economics, stats and marketing are all useful for a market research career. If you are keen to get involved in Qual research psychology is always useful as well as literary degrees. In short most degrees will be relevant. It is important to have conducted some research and to be sure of why you want to develop a career in market research - you will be asked at interview!